August 26, 2010

Jay Mariotti suspended by AOL, benched by ESPN

Former Chicago Sun-Times star sports columnist Jay Mariotti, has not spoken publicly about his weekend arrest in Los Angeles on suspicion of felony domestic assault. And it doesn't appear he will be saying much of anything on his usual turf, ESPN or AOL's Fanhouse site, at least for a while.

"In the history of arrested sportswriters, this weekend’s brief incarceration of Jay Mariotti brought with it an incredible amount of grave dancing," a Wall Street Journal blog noted. The arrest "served as a schadenfreude fest for sports fans tired of seeing Mariotti cultivate a persona as a holier-than-thou scold."

Part of the reason for the vehemence is that Mariotti rarely bothers with equivocation when expressing his own opinions. His judgments are fast, firm and harsh, and he allows little room for doubt, dispute, uncertainty or even the slightest shade of gray.

“I don’t know Mariotti beyond a few cordial meetings," added LeBatard, a fill-in on ESPN's "Pardon the Interruption." "I have no earthly idea if he’s capable of violence against a woman. Nor do I know if there is nuance and perspective that can be added to his incident that would make it more understandable or sympathetic. He’s getting sliced up now by the same knife that he has made a profitable career out of wielding.”

Going forward, the New York Times on Thursday reported an AOL spokeswoman said: "We are continuing to gather all the facts. In the meantime, we have suspended Jay Mariotti and are not featuring any new work from him."

A spokesman for ESPN told the Tribune that Mariotti is not scheduled to appear next week on "Around the Horn," a weekday shoutfest in which commentators in various locales argue over a variety of sports issues that did not tape this week. No specific reason was given for Mariotti's absence.

The "Horn" lineup of participants each week is said to be determined no more than one week in advance.

Mariotti quit the Sun-Times in August 2008 shortly after returning from the Beijing Olympics. His departure came only weeks after it was announced he had agreed to a three-year contract extension with the newspaper.

Good riddance! Being a columnist means he never had to face the people he was attacking. That's why being a sports columnist is even worse than being a sports reporter. At least reporters have to talk to the people they are bashing. Columnists are often frustrated journalism majors that cannot stand that jocks get all the love and turn into terrorists with pens against those they write about. Mariotti was one of the worst.

---when you are on cloud, as you, me and most every other person who hasn't made a comment, it's probably because we are alll sooo high on the fact that Mr. Mariotti finally got his come-downance!!!
---ahhhh, life is good!!!

I'm not so sure Jay Mariotti will be on "Around the Horn" much longer, let alone any ESPN property for that matter. Based on what I have read, Mariotti was about to start a new sports talk radio show on ESPN Radio's Los Angeles outlet with onetime former Bull Jalen Rose before this incident involving his girlfriend at a Santa Monica nightclub about a week ago. Something tells me that new show and other ESPN-related things Mariotti were involved in prior to this incident will cost him his job at the "Worldwide Leader".

Having known Jay and worked with him in Cincinnati and Denver, I have to say I'm surprised that he would resort to such violence against a woman. We became friends, and even after I had moved on to the newspaper in Orlando, we stayed in touch for a while. But after he moved to Chicago, his life became far more complex, and my phone stopped ringing. It happens. Such is life. When I knew him, he was always a thought-provoking columnist: You didn't have to agree with him, but as long as he made you think, he was doing his job. When he started wielding the "poison pen" I don't know, but it seems now he has to face the same music he has been playing for many years. As the old saying goes, "What goes around, comes around."

If he is found guilty in a court of law, I hope he gets what he wishes for pro athletes that find themselves in the same position, the book thrown at him. He should be fired from his jobs and the maximum amount of time in jail is exactly what he should get.
No slap on the wrist for this guy...Throw the book at him...

About this blog

This is an expansion of the Chicago Tribune column I have written since April 2005, and the columns I wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times and Los Angeles’ Daily News for two decades before that. It’s TV, radio, newspapers and whatever, both locally and nationally. Beyond sharing what crosses my desk—and my mind—this will be a venue for you to share your takes with me as well as with each other. About Phil Rosenthal